Field of the Invention
Duct lining insulation for lining variable air volume boxes, air handling units, and ducts for heat ventilation and air conditioning is provided.
Although there is a wide variety of insulative materials available, insulation which is suitable as duct lining is extremely limited due to the rigorous requirements which duct lining materials should ideally meet. For the best duct lining insulation, this insulation should: 1) give off substantially no volatile, 2) give off substantially no fiber, 3) have the exposed surfaces of the insulation be smooth so that it presents a poor surface for air-borne contaminates to stick to, 4) not be water wicking (absorbent), and 5) be capable of fixing the insulation to the duct surface. In addition to this, it would be even more advantageous to have an efficient insulating material with a low thermal conductivity to allow thin layers to be used, thus taking up less space.
Fiberglass is presently used as duct lining insulation. The fiberglass, however, does tend to take up water. While this attraction to water is a disadvantage, the ability to absorb water allows water based adhesives to be used to fix the fiberglass insulation to the duct. The use of water based adhesives avoids the problem of volatile which other types of adhesives would have. The fiberglass itself, furthermore, must be wrapped or coated to obtain a smooth surface and to contain the fibers of glass which otherwise would be given off.
It would, however, be advantageous to be able to use a more efficient insulation than fiberglass which would allow thinner layers of insulation to be used, provided, however that such an insulation which would also meet the other requirements for duct lining insulation. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an insulation system using more efficient insulation which also meets the above listed requirements for duct lining insulation.